


Veela's Fire

by dragyn42



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Creature Fic, Drama, F/M, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-25
Updated: 2010-12-25
Packaged: 2020-03-07 00:49:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18862384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragyn42/pseuds/dragyn42
Summary: A certain girl’s desires have drastic, unintentional results. Can Ginny help Harry through the crisis with a Dark Lord out to kill them?





	Veela's Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Exchange: smutty_claus 2010  
> To: lord_spyridon
> 
> Well, I’ve been wanting to play with this idea for a while now, and your prompt gave me a great excuse. I hope there’s enough plot here for you, lord_spyridon.

“Gabrielle! Non!!” came the desperate shout from, not one, but two screeching women.

Harry, who had been dancing with Gabrielle was shocked by the sudden outcry. And at that moment, everything seemed to happen at once, all out of order. He had been dancing with Gabrielle at the reception to Bill and Fleur’s wedding, especially since Ginny was avoiding him and Gabrielle was one of the only other people there, besides the Weasleys and Hermione, who knew who he really was under his disguise of Cousin Barney. At the noise, he looked up to see Fleur and her mother, Apolline, running towards them, horror etched on both of their faces. He could also make out the concerned confusion on Bill’s face and the jealous anger on Ginny’s face – which struck him as odd as she was currently dancing in the arms of some French, blond, pretty-boy who was apparently a friend of Fleur’s. While he broke it off with Ginny, it still hurt to see her there and not with him.

He was looking around for the sources of the problem, as the fact that they had yelled ‘Gabrielle’ hadn’t quite penetrated his thoughts yet, and a slender hand threaded its fingers into his hair and pulled his head forward. Surprised, and still much confused, he refocused his attentions on his dance partner just in time to see her ready to kiss him. The impulse to pull away had only just begun when her lips met his and a sudden searing _need_ ripped through his body.

It was as if fire had replaced blood, and all of that was moving south. His deep seated fears revolving around his loved ones being taken from him, for he knew that more than anything else, that was what he now feared most, were pulled to the surface and studied, the fire in his blood cauterizing them like the wounds they were. And while those fears were still there, the damage they had been doing to his psyche was gone and now replaced with more of that _need_.

In his mind, which had nearly instantly blocked out everything else around him as soon as the burning started, he knew that filling that need would be easy. After all, who wouldn’t want him. He was Harry, The-Boy-Who-Lived, a handsome young man that would draw in all the chicks for miles. There was no way anyone could turn him down. Yes, his needs would be fulfilled. He could hear them now, crying out for him, wanting to be with him. The fire burned harder, and in a flash of red, all was black.

* * *

When he came to, it took more than several moments for everything to catch up, all while trying to figure out where he was. There were voices yelling, in French he thought. The ground was hard against his back, but his head was raised, pillowed on something. There was a fire in his veins that he had never felt before, though he thought maybe it was familiar, and possibly had something to do with his current state. Another voice was murmuring by him, and a hand caressed his forehead, which felt inexplicably slick.

Slowly, carefully, Harry cracked open his eyes, and the sky spun in circles. He managed to not vomit, and was soon aware that it was the sky was looking at, and he was on his back, on the ground, outside. He looked upwards, behind him, and found that his pillow was the lap of Ginny, who was currently in the process of trying to murder someone with the power of her gaze. A pang ran through him to realize he had given that up. It was a stupid thing to do.

“You knew better,” came the murmuring from next to him. “That is never done without permission for a reason.”

He glanced over and saw Bill, kneeling on one knee next to his sister, his hand grasping her shoulder in an obvious brotherly gesture of comfort. Glancing down towards his feet, he saw little, blond Gabrielle, still stunning in her dress, sitting in a heap on the grass. Her eyes held fatigue and shame while she simultaneously glared defiantly at her mother and sister, along with Molly Weasley and Hermione arrayed in front of her, all of them livid, their anger nearly visibly wafting off of their bodies.

Behind them, and presumably all around, it seemed the rest of the Weasley males, as well some others like Luna and her father, were circled around them all, keeping back the rest of the wedding reception, all of whom were looking on in morbid curiosity.

“You could have killed him,” said Bill as Apolline spoke. And when Fleur continued her rant, Bill translated, “He never would have said yes. I told you that.”

“Damn right,” hissed Ginny.

The sound of her echoed through his body, answering a _need_ he didn’t even know was there. The feel of it caused an involuntary moan to escape from his lips, instantly silencing all of the shouting and causing everyone to turn in unison to stare at him.

“Harry!” cried out Hermione. “Are you okay?”

“Wha..” he choked. “What happened?”

The occupants of the show all looked at each other, silently trying to figure out who was going to break whatever horrible news it was that needed to be told to him. Fleur and Hermione nodded at each other, and Hermione inhaled, preparing to explain when, at that moment, something large and silver came falling through the canopy over the dance floor. Graceful and gleaming, the lynx landed lightly in the middle of the circle. The focus of the entire crowed shifted from Harry to the ethereal animal. Then the Patronus’s mouth opened wide and it spoke in the loud, deep, slow voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt.

“ _The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming._ ”

* * *

Pandemonium was the only word that came to mind. At the instant that the feline faded away, many of the wedding revelers pulled their wands, understanding that something bad was about to happen. At the same time, black cloaked figures popped into existence at random throughout the celebration area.

Shouts of _Protego!_ came from all over while the Death Eaters began firing spells at random, causing panic. Harry, from his ground position, couldn’t see if anyone fell in that first salvo, but he knew, even as confused as he was, that everyone needed to get out of there. Apparently Hermione came to the same conclusion.

“We need to get him out of here, he’s a sitting duck,” she said, looking around for Ron.

“I must go, too. It could still be me!” cried Gabrielle in English.

“Non! C’est impossible!” responded Fleur as Harry felt Ginny’s arms tighten around him.

Hermione turned back from the crowd and looked directly at Ginny. “It’s definitely not you, Gabby.”

Mrs. Weasley’s eyes opened wide in shock before panicked understanding appeared on her face. “No. No! I’ll not allow it!”

“Bill, I can’t go anymore. Ginny’s the only one who can. You need to keep him safe. It’s more important than you know.”

“Hermione, wha...?” Harry asked, but Hermione continued hurriedly.

“Harry, things change. You need to trust them with everything. You need to finish. We’ll keep everyone safe.”

Fleur agreed, pulling her own wand, saying, “Go, I’ll see you later, my love!” and started firing shield charms and other spells into the crowd.

With that, Hermione threw her small, beaded handbag at him. “Bill, now!”

As Harry felt Bill’s hand grab his wrist, he cried out, “Hermione!” just as the familiar squeezing sensation pulled at him and Mrs. Weasley’s cry of of “NO!” filled his ears.

* * *

Harry fell to the ground with a thud, Ginny partially underneath him protecting his head. Bill let go of his wrist lest he be pulled over with them, and stood up, walking hurriedly towards a shelf filled with little knick-knacks.

“Bill, where are we?” asked Harry.

“Shell Cottage. It’s to be Fleur’s and my home. But hold on, we’re only passing through.”

While Bill looked carefully through the items decorating the shelf, Harry shifted himself to sit upright for the first time since he came to after... whatever it was that Fleur’s little sister did. He did feel an initial bit of vertigo, no doubt a mix of everything that had occurred, but Ginny never stopped touching him and carefully helped keep him from falling back over as the dizziness hit. He looked at her to thank her, but found himself unable to speak. Something about Ginny looked... more. Her hair shone, her eyes pierced into him, her skin glowed. Everything about her cried out that she would be there for him, that she was the only one for him. It was like last year at school, only more.

She must have noticed his inability to speak because she smiled comfortingly at him. The vertigo seemed to melt away. A little voice inside was telling him something was different, but he couldn’t pay attention to it. Her smile drove away his ability to think, though another part of him definitely responded. He couldn’t tell if he was happy or upset that, between his sitting position and his robes, Ginny wouldn’t be able to tell his reaction.

“Okay, grab this.”

Bill’s voice interrupted his reverie. Tearing his eyes away from his ex-girlfriend, Harry found that Bill was holding a canopic jar with the head of a bird, a falcon he thought.

“Hurry up, we can’t stay here long,” Bill said.

As difficult as sitting up had been, trying to lift his arm seemed an impossible task. Ginny seemed to notice his problem and lifted his arm to hold his hand against the jar. The Portkey activated, but the familiar sensation of tugging, the swirling colors and howling winds were all lost in the burning that fired under his skin from the place that Ginny was touching him. His reaction from earlier, hidden in his trousers under his robes, was now rampant and almost painful. Through the ride, his gaze was focused on her hand where it held him.

And for the second time that day, Harry found himself crashing to the ground. He momentarily realized it was the third time, but he had no recollection of anything between dancing with Gabrielle and waking up. Once again, Ginny was there to keep him from being too injured owing to his inability with magical forms of travel and what appeared to be a general incapability of controlling his body.

Remembering that Ginny kept him from feeling sick, he turned his gaze to her and all the turmoil in his stomach from the Portkey trip disappeared. Ginny, for her part, was still carefully holding onto Harry while looking around and following her brother with her eyes.

“We should be good,” announced Bill. “They won’t think to look for us here, not yet at any rate. Now we just need to find a place to hide.”

“The bag,” said Harry, causing Ginny to look at him and meet his gaze. There was still a fire there, but it was fading. They were on the run, just the three of them, and they didn’t know where anyone else was, or even if they were okay. That panic was at the edge of her, but she still smiled brightly when she looked at him.

“Well, let’s see what’s in it that Hermione thought it was so important to give it to you,” said Bill, pulling the bag off of Harry’s lap.

As he opened it to look through it, Ginny softly caressed his upper arm, trailing fire from her touch, and his control seemed to return as she did so.

“An Undetectable Extension Charm,” remarked Bill. “Clever girl.”

“So we’ve been told,” said Harry, grinning at Ginny.

“Well, I don’t think finding a place to stay will be a problem,” said Bill.

Forcing himself to tear his gaze away from Ginny once more, he looked to her brother and found him pulling what looked to be a fairly large tent roll out of the bag, though there was no visible way it could have fit into the tiny container.

“Wait,” said Ginny. “Isn’t that...?”

“Indeed it is,” said Bill, answering her unfinished question. “It’s the tent Dad had at the Quidditch Cup. So, we should have plenty of space. Let’s see if we can get Harry up and we’ll move a little bit out of the way here. I can set up some security charms and jinxes to hide the tent. It should be safe enough once I’m done.”

Bill reached down to help Harry up. He was a little shaky on his feet, but the control that he felt returning from Ginny’s contact had seeped through the rest of his body. With Ginny standing behind him, maintaining contact with him, the Weasley siblings were able to lead Harry away from the open field he now realized they were in, across the dirt road and into the woods beyond.

* * *

It had only taken a few minutes for Bill to set up the tent, and then a few swishes of his wand caused it to disappear from view. Bill led them forward and Harry saw the tent reappear, and then further on into the tent. What greeted him was the same three room flat he remembered from the Cup, though the smell of cats was gone and seemed to have been replaces with pine cleaner. Hermione must have checked the tent before she packed it.

There were several chairs around the small kitchen table. Taking a seat on one side, Bill motioned for Harry and Ginny to sit on the other. He then took a breath, gathering his thoughts before he spoke.

“We have a lot to talk about.” Harry and Ginny both nodded in response. “While I know you’ll need to tell Ginny and I what your plans were, Harry, I don’t know how long you’ll last, and it’s vitally important I explain what happened with Gabrielle.”

A dark look passed over Bill’s face which surprised Harry, he had never seen the man look that angry. Ginny likewise gripped Harry’s hand and he could swear she was growling.

“I don’t have all the answers, Harry, but I do know what was going on. You can’t marry a Veela without learning a lot about them.” He paused again, looking at Ginny for a moment, and then returned to explaining. “What Gabrielle did could be considered tantamount to rape.

“Veela, as you know, have an innate ability to attract the opposite sex. Depending on the strength of this ability, it can reduce men to gibbering, drooling wrecks. It’s a defense mechanism. Veela are very beautiful, and often very sought after. Incapacitating their captors in the way they do can be quite helpful.

“However, it can also be used to attract mates. It’s part of their avian heritage. Bear with me just a little longer, Harry.”

Bill’s admonition caused Harry to realize he was fading. All he wanted to do was curl up with Ginny and sleep for a long time.

“Gabrielle discovered earlier this summer that you had broken up with Ginny and got it into her head that you would be her mate. A Veela, upon knowing the interest of a potential, can feed her ability into the target directly by touch. It does nothing more than enhance already existing feelings of attraction, and will wear off in a few days. While it’s active, though...”

“Bill, please. I don’t need to know that,” complained Ginny.

“Actually, you do. You see Harry, you didn’t want to be her mate, so there was no attraction. And, as I remember from the Cup, you’re not affected by their natural attraction. So, Gabrielle did something childish and stupid. She tried to feed as much into you as she could, forcing you to want her.”

“That’s why Fleur and her mother reacted,” said Harry in realization.

“Exactly. When in contact with someone, it’s a focused ability, so no one other than a Veela would recognize it happening.”

“So, what happened?”

Ginny and Bill looked at each other and Ginny spoke first, “No matter what, Harry, I’m here for you. I was stubbornly waiting for you to say it first, despite Hermione telling me you wouldn’t, so I’m telling you now. Harry, I love you. Know that. Anything that happens is my choice.”

No one had ever told him they loved him, at least not in that way, and not that he could remember. That burning feeling began once more inside of him, both in his chest and in his groin, and spread from there.

“Harry, look at me,” said Bill.

Harry didn’t even remember looking to Ginny when she spoke, but she filled his vision, his entire awareness. She actually pushed on his cheek to turn his head back to Bill.

“When Gabrielle did what she did, it didn’t have the effect she desired. Rather than make you want her, your resistance made you want the person you wanted. And when she pushed the way she did, she imparted her abilities to you to get what you wanted.”

“She... what?”

“You’re now a Veela, Harry.”

“A...”

“A Veela.”

* * *

That statement was settling slowly into Harry’s consciousness. If he didn’t have enough problems to deal with, now a little girl had turned him into a Veela – like a werewolf, only... only... He really didn’t know what was so bad about being a Veela. All he wanted right now was to curl up with Ginny. Her touch set a fire in him that he wanted. Sleeping with her there would be heavenly.

“Shite. Harry, come on, mate. Just a little longer,” Bill’s voice cut into his stupor. “Harry, I needed to go into that so you could understand this next part.”

Groping blindly towards Ginny to hold onto her, an almost unconscious movement, he looked sleepily at Bill.

“Okay, here’s the important part, Harry. Gabrielle was trying to make you her mate. But because of what happened, you now require one of your own.”

“Huh?” Harry was having more and more trouble comprehending Bill.

“A Veela can mate with anyone, Harry, but it’s best if they mate with the person best suited for them; their Mate, if you will.”

Even in his stupor, Harry could make out the capital letter in Bill’s inflection, but he couldn’t understand what it meant.

“Damn it, I took too long explaining. He’s not going to stay awake until... Are you sure about this, Ginny?”

“He’s mine, Bill.”

“Okay, get him into a bedroom. I’ll cast the silencing charms, we don’t want any problems with the Trace.”

Harry had no idea what they were talking about anymore, but Ginny was holding him, so it was okay. The fire was there, flowing from her contact, keeping him happy. She was all that mattered. He felt another set of arms left him out of his seat, but there was no fire, so it wasn’t Ginny. He squirmed a bit to get away from the touch.

“Shhh, Harry. It’s okay. We’re going to lie down, now.” Ginny’s voice echoed in his head, removing his awareness of the other arms. They didn’t matter anymore.

He was moving, of that he was sure, but the warmth of Ginny was still there. The room tilted, and now he was lying on something soft. There was some talking around him, and several flashes of light, one of which caused him to feel different, but he didn’t know how. Ginny stopped touching him for a moment causing him to whimper, but soon she was curled up with him, and the fire that came from her touch flared all through his body. She was pressed against him, and he most definitely reacted.

Her voice, the only sound he could truly make out, filtered through to him, “I love you, Harry. I want this.”

Then her lips were on his and it was a dream come true. They had snogged last year, of course, but this was heaven in a kiss. He could feel the softness of her hands as one of them cupped at his face, bringing him back to life, and the other traced up and down the skin of his back, causing a delightful pressure in his chest, and he felt himself become even harder if that were possible.

Ginny’s hand stroked over his side and around his hip, the fire in his blood burning, and soon it was wrapped around him, reducing his entire awareness to Ginny and the sensations she caused in him. The lethargy that had settled in him burned away, and the pressure built as Ginny’s hand stroked him up and down. He wrapped his arm around Ginny’s body and pulled her in closer to him. He reveled in the feel of here breasts pressed, squeezed against his chest. Her skin sang against his the entire length of his body. And finally the dam broke. The fire erupted from him with a hoarse cry.

“That’s it. Let it out. Come for me, Harry. I love you.”

He was no longer tired, but he still only wanted the same thing: Ginny. In a rush of energy, he flipped both of them over, pinning Ginny beneath, her pale, freckled skin and fiery, red hair blocking out everything else around him. Her brown eyes called to him, dark with lust, and she smiled up at him.

“I’m yours, Harry. Always yours,” she told him.

Everything made sense, now. She was his, and he needed to claim her, to make sure all knew it. Reaching down to align himself – he could never hurt her by blindly forcing his way in – he pushed slowly, the feel of her hot and wet around him, squeezing him. The fire he felt before that spread through him was a match compared to the bonfire blaze that heated him now. And he wanted more.

With a mighty shove, he was buried inside of her. Her cry was music in his ears, singing through his system. The look of ecstasy on her face drove him onward, the remnants of pain in front of him fading into lust. Her hands on his back, her legs on his arse spurred him on. If kissing her was heaven, then this was the pleasure of the universe, the source of all joy.

He pounded into her repeatedly, the euphoria raging through him. Under him, her face, her eyes closed, showed her joy. He wanted, needed more. Lowering himself onto her, allowing more skin contact, he never stopped his forceful movements as he took her mouth with his. Of course she responded, he was epitome of what she needed. She was his and he was perfect for her. The pressure, as it had just minutes ago, built further in him, his blood singing like lava. And then she pulled her mouth away and screeched, her joy music to him, the ultimate approval of what he had done for her. And with that, he burst forth within her, jetting spurt after spurt of pure fire and heat.

And now everyone would know she was his.

* * *

Once again, Harry came to, but this time everything seemed more... right than it had before. He was in a bed, but lying on his stomach, which was unusual for him. Except, it wasn’t bedsheets under him, but the soft, naked form of Ginny, her arms around him, holding him comfortingly. He started to move off of her, but her arms tightened and she moaned pleasingly.

“Mmm, don’t move, Harry. I like this.”

Her voice caused tiny vibrations to carry into his body from her chest as well as down further where he realized they were still joined. Still. Joined. Naked. He had slept with Ginny. And it was glorious. But...

“No, Harry. You’re not allowed to feel guilty about this. This was better than I dreamed. I’m so happy that I did this with you.”

“How...?”

“I know you, Harry. I’ve known _you_ for seven years, even if I knew about you for longer, and I’ve loved _you_ for nearly that long, ever since the Chamber.”

“What about Michael and Dean?”

Ginny snorted in a very unladylike fashion. “Harry, you’re not supposed to discuss prior relationships before, during or after sex. But since it’s you, and I know how clueless you are, I’ll answer anyway. I’m a teenage girl. Just because I loved you didn’t mean I was going to not live my life by pining after you. I did what teenagers do and dated, hoping that I’d find someone for me, wishing that someone was you. And last year it was.”

“Sorry,” Harry mumbled into her neck.

“Nothing to be sorry about. I know many of your fan girls think you’re ignoring them, but when I was younger, Mum made me realize you weren’t ignoring me, I simply was not something you noticed. And once you did, well, you know it from there.”

“And now?”

“Now what, Harry?”

“I’m a... a... Veela.”

“Yes you are, and that doesn’t change anything. I love you, Harry. Be you human or something more, and don’t ever think that this makes you less, I love you. I’m yours, Harry, for however long, and however you want me.”

The conversation was tiring, but he responded, “I think I want you now.”

“Then take me, Harry, I’m yours.” A second later, she giggled, saying, “Wow, that sounded like something out of Mum’s romance novels.”

“It’s okay, I kind of liked it,” said Harry, leaning in to kiss her.

Fire once more exploded through his body and he instantly hardened inside of her, causing a moan from her lips into his mouth. In response, he pushed himself the rest of the way in, slowly, and then withdrew just as slowly. Their first time had been frenzied passion, driven by whatever it was that was happening to him, but this time, he was going to show her how he felt. Carefully, sensually, he slid into her again, the soft, hot, squeezing sensation as exquisite as it was last time.

He moved his mouth off of her and down her jaw, kissing and licking as he went, until he arrived at the clear, smooth, creamy skin of her neck, just under her ear and above her collar. Her squeak told him this was the perfect spot. He kissed and licked, sucked and nibbled at the skin, causing the most amazing sounds to emanate from Ginny. And while he did that, he continued his slow, measured sliding in and out of her.

Harry wasn’t sure how long he kept at it, but he felt like he could go on forever. At least, that was until the squeaking noises evolved into moans and began to grow faster, more hurried. By instinct, be began to match his thrusts to her sounds, and the faster they got, the more the fire built in his veins. Once more Ginny cried out, and moments later he spilt his burning essence into her.

“I could do that forever,” she whispered to him, echoing his thoughts from earlier.

“Me too, but I... I... have something else I need to do first.”

Ginny sighed, holding tightly onto him, preventing him from getting away. Not that he would have tried that hard. His choices were apparently stay here and love Ginny, or get away to die and save the Wizarding World. He really wished he hadn’t been separated from Hermione and Ron. They at least knew what was going on.

“Harry, don’t get it into your head that you’re going to run away to do whatever needs to be done yourself. I will hunt you down if I have to. You’re not doing it yourself. Bill’s no slouch either.”

“I can’t...”

“Bull, Harry. Hermione told you to trust us. ‘Things change,’ she said. ‘You need to trust them with everything.’ Do you think you can’t trust me, Harry?”

“No!” he cried out. “I mean, yes, I know I can trust you. I trust you with my life. But... I... I’m not sure I trust yours with me. I can’t let anything happen to you.”

“Shhh, shhh,” cooed Ginny into his ear. He was grasping her like a lifeline, and when had he started crying? “Harry, we all make our own choices. Mine is to be with you, no matter what. If you were to kill Voldemort only to take his place, I would be at your side, Harry. Nothing could make me stop loving you, and nothing will keep me away from you. Okay?”

Harry nodded against her.

“Good, now, let’s get cleaned up and go talk to Bill. There’s more that we need to discuss.”

* * *

Fifteen minutes later found them back in the common area of the tent. Bill was lounging on a sofa reading what appeared to be one of Hermione’s books on defense charms.

“This really is a good book. Lots of great theory explanation. Makes me wish I had this book when I was taking my N.E.W.T.s,” he commented. He looked up from the book, closing it and setting it aside, before gesturing and saying, “Well, come on. Have a seat.”

Harry saw his choices were the floor, pull chairs over from the kitchen, or a lounger that most definitely did not match the sofa. Ginny took the choice from him by leading him to the chair, pushing him into it, and promptly seating herself across his lap.

Bill smiled as he said, “Well, now that that is out of the way, I guess I really need to finish the explanation. How much do you actually remember, Harry. You were pretty far gone by the time I started.”

“I... I’m a Veela. And something about,” he knew he was blushing. “Something about mating.”

“Okay, then. Harry, you need to stop being embarrassed. You’re a Veela. I married a Veela. I know what’s going on. The only way we can get through this is discussing it like adults. Got it?”

Harry nodded his response.

“Now, mating, right. Contrary to popular opinion, Veela are not sexual creatures who need to sleep with everything that moves. They are, for the most part, as monogamous as regular humans. Their avian ancestry, combined with their genetic good looks has formed the rather interesting defense mechanism based off of their method of attracting mates. Namely, they make themselves more attractive to potential mates.

“However, there is one side effect to the whole thing. Veela can have relations, sexual or otherwise, as they please. But once they realize that someone is their Mate, the one they wish to be with forever, they go into a type of, well... it’s like a cat in heat. Your ability becomes a bit unpredictable. You become fatigued easily and can loose control.”

“That’s why Hermione said she couldn’t come, she figured out what Ginny would do to me and... uh...” said Harry.

“Precisely,” agreed Bill. “She did a bit of research on Veela during the Tournament, and again before coming to the wedding. She knew what would happen and that she couldn’t be around you.”

“So, what now? What happens while, I... while Ginny and I...”

“Well, as I said, you will fatigue easily for a while. You can sleep it off, or you can do what you and Ginny just did. It, from what Fleur explained to me, burns it out of your system.”

Harry nodded. “That’s what it felt like.”

“Before we move to the next topic of conversation, do you have any questions? I’ll answer anything I’m able to,” Bill offered.

“I guess, well, how long should this be.”

“It varies from Veela to Veela, and since Veela are matrilineal and don’t birth boys with the trait, the only experiences with male Veela are those that were created like you. But from those accounts, probably a week, maybe as much as a month. It shouldn’t be much longer.”

“If it’s matrilieneal, does that mean that our daughters,” he paused, realized what he just said, but Bill merely waited while Ginny grinned at him. “Will they be Veela if I’m male?”

“I honestly don’t know, Harry. We can look it up later, but I just don’t know.”

“I have another question, but it’s for Ginny.” Bill nodded and Harry looked to Ginny, her presence filling his vision. “Do, you, uh... are you... affected? By what I do?”

“Yes. But Harry, don’t you dare feel guilty or worry. You ability only enhances any attraction, any feelings that are already there. I already think you’re one of the best looking guys around, and I love you more than anything. All that happens is I feel that more strongly – like now, by the way.”

Harry smiled, kissed her, and yawned.

“Okay, we’re going to have to break again, apparently. It’s still early, but you can just sleep if you want. Or not. Either way, we need to talk about what we do next. Okay, Harry?” asked Bill.

Blushing again, Harry nodded as Ginny bounced up, pulled him from the chair and led them to their room.

  
“You know, Harry, if you keep tiring out this quickly, pretty soon, I’m going to be tired out,” Ginny commented, giggling.

“Oh. We can just, you know, sleep.”

“No way in hell, Potter. I intend to enjoy this. But, rather than make a lot of work, why don’t we go for the famed ‘quickie.’”

“Ginny!” yelled Harry, scandalized.

“Harry, you might as well get used to talking about this stuff. I intend to have as much fun with you as I can, and it will involve talking, communicating our likes and dislikes,” she said to him. “And now, I want to try a quickie. So get over here!”

He was feeling a bit sleepy, and the bed where she was standing was so inviting. For that matter, so was she. Her eyes blazed, her lips were parted. He would be so happy to have her in that bed. He shuffled his feet and made his way over to her.

Ginny knelt down in front of Harry, undid his zipper, and pulled down his trousers and underwear. “I’ve wanted to try this with you since I knew what it was. Let’s get you ready.”

The instant her hand touched his skin, especially there, the fire roared through him and he responded immediately.

“Wow, you do respond quickly, don’t you?”

Harry found himself unable to respond between the burning in his mind and the feeling of her grasp. But as heavenly as it was, it got even better when he felt a wet, steamy warmth engulf him as he watched her swallow him with her mouth. He emitted a very loud moan, which seemed to encourage Ginny to apply more pressure, more suction with her mouth, as she started to bob her head over him. The feeling was amazing.

Ginny continued her first attempt, and an extremely successful attempt by Harry’s gauge, of fellatio for several minutes before pulling completely off.

“I don’t know that I’m ready for you to, uh... come in my mouth yet. Eventually, I really want to know,” she blushed and stuttered a moment. “Know what you taste like, but not just yet.”

She stood, pulled up the skirt she had put on after their last time, and pulled aside her knickers.

“It was to get you ready, and now you’re ready. So am I. Come on, Harry,” she said sultrily over her shoulder.

Staring at her, open and waiting, glistening and ready, his feet moved of their own accord as he walked up to her and pushed in with one stroke.

“Yessssss,” Ginny hissed. “Do it, Harry. Show me you want me.”

Harry reached around and grabbed her perfect breasts through her blouse and began to pound at her, much as he did before. The fire drove him on and the sting from his hip where it slapped against her rear offered an enticing counterpoint to the sensations he had experienced so far. And each drive of his hips caused a moan from Ginny, “Faster, more, quick, come on, now, Harry,” repeatedly and at random.

Ginny’s cries became louder and faster, and he sped up his thrusts, matching her. And finally she shouted out, and the fire bloomed throughout him and he came into her once more.

Breathing heavily, the couple collapsed forward onto the bed.

“Better?” Ginny asked breathily from within his embrace.

“Yeah,” Harry responded.

“Okay. When we’re ready, we should head back out.”

* * *

They emerged from the bedroom to find Bill reading another of Hermione’s books, this time one on charms. He looked up at them and lifted an eyebrow.

“That was quick.”

“That was the point,” retorted his sister saucily.

Once they regained their seat in the chair, Ginny spoke up. “Bill, I have a question of my own about this.”

“Okay...”

“I er... well, I was very ready to not, um... orgasm this time. But no matter how much I pushed him on, Harry didn’t orgasm until after I did. And it’s happened every time so far. Well, except for the very beginning.”

“What was different about the beginning?” asked Bill.

“I used my hand,” said Ginny, trying to hide her blush behind Harry.

“Ah, well. With Fleur, she says she doesn’t want to orgasm unless I’m happy. Often, she can do so many times before I do, but during those times, we’re, how do I say this, very much enjoying one another. Other times, when we do what I assume you just did, she won’t come until I do. I have a feeling it’s the same with Harry, though different as he’s male. He probably doesn’t want to orgasm until he knows you’ve been fulfilled. Beyond that, it’s something the two of you will need to discuss.”

“Bill,” asked Harry. “How is it you can talk about this so easily? I mean, I know you married Fleur and all, but...”

Bill actually chuckled and explained, “I did marry Fleur. And when she decided I was her Mate, I had many of these discussions with her and, more embarrassingly, with her parents. If they could talk with me about it like supportive adults, I can do the same for you.”

“Oh, okay. Um... thanks,” said Harry.

“You’re welcome, Harry. I only want the best for my little sister, so I better make sure you can provide it, hmm?” His smile showed he was teasing.

“Now, I think you really need to share with us what it is you were planning on doing with Ron and Hermione. They can’t help you now, and I’ll be damned if I let you go off and do it yourself, leaving Ginny alone.”

“She said pretty much the same thing to me,” said Harry.

“Good for her. Now explain.”

“Well, first of all, ‘plan’ might be too formal a word. We know what we have to do, but there was no real plan. I guess first of all, I should tell you the prophecy.”

“Prophecy?” asked a shocked Bill.

“Yeah, it’s what your dad and the order were guarding when he got hurt. We lost it when we fought the Death Eaters, but Dumbledore was the original person who heard the prophecy, so he told it to me.”

“That’s the night Sirius died, right?” At both Harry’s and Ginny’s nods, he commented, “Timing could have been better to tell you. Okay, so what’s it say?”

Harry spent the next twenty minutes discussing with Bill and Ginny the prophecy, as well as Dumbledore’s thoughts about Riddle and his plans. He went into his lessons before he finally got to the crux of the matter.

“So, after I finally got the answer from Slughorn, we verified the headmaster’s fear that Tom made Horcruxes.”

“Horecruxes?!” shouted Bill. “As in more than one?”

“We figured six, making a total of seven parts,” answered Harry. “Wait, you know about Horcruxes?”

“Unfortunately, yes. I do.”

“Well, I don’t, so could someone please tell me what’s going on?” Ginny complained.

“Why don’t you explain, Harry. That way I can tell what you know, whether it might be more than me or not, and then we can figure out what to do.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed. “A wizard can create a Horcrux by splitting his soul and anchoring the broken... piece, I guess, to another object. In so doing, a part of his soul will always be here, and hence the wizard will be unable to cross over. He would essentially be bound here, living, until the Horcrux is destroyed.”

“Correct, for the most part,” commented Bill.

“I can’t imagine anyone wanting to split their soul. It sounds dangerous, and painful,” said Ginny.

“Yeah, well, it gets worse. The only way to do it, the only way to fracture your soul to the degree necessary, is to commit murder,” continued Harry.

Ginny simply stared at Harry for several moments before asking, “And he created more than one?”

“That’s what Professor Dumbledore and I thought. Tom puts stock in the powers of numbers and associations. Seven is a powerful number, which is why we think he made six of them. And we think he used mostly objects he associated with power, objects of the founders: a locket that belonged to Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup, a ring that was an heirloom for the Gaunt family, his wizarding ancestors, things like that. We also thought Nagini, Tom’s snake, might be one – it would explain a lot.”

“So, your plan was to track the items down and destroy them?” asked Bill.

“Dumbledore said we couldn’t permanently get rid of him until they were gone. I destroyed one early, though I didn’t know it at the time...”

“The diary,” Ginny instantly surmised.

Harry nodded and held her more tightly. “Dumbledore destroyed the ring, that’s what injured his arm. And we went to get the locket the night he was killed, it’s why he was so weak. Unfortunate, it was a fake.”

Harry’s explanation faded away and Bill began to grumble. Eventually, it got loud enough that Harry could hear Bill saying, “Albus, you old fool. There was reason!”

“Bill?” asked Ginny.

“I’m sorry, it’s just... None of this was necessary. I know why he did what he did, but...” Bill took a breath to steady himself. “He was right that he shouldn’t share this. Information on Horcruxes is extremely dangerous and should never be allowed to get out. Only one wizard in a thousand may have ever heard of them, and the headmaster played the odds that he would be the only one who knew.”

“But you do know, and a fair amount by the sound of it,” said Ginny.

“I do. During a dig in Egypt... I won’t bore you with the details, I don’t know how much longer until Harry fades off again. But, long story short, we found a Horcrux in a pyramid and I had to do a hell of a lot of research to figure out what it was and how to destroy it.”

“And?” prompted his sister.

“Albus got nearly everything right. But he missed something. There was a reason Horcruxes aren’t used anymore. They aren’t foolproof. There is a way to destroy them all, either through the wizard who created them or through another Horcrux if he attempted to make more than one.”

“So, we can...” started Harry.

“Yes, we can destroy Voldemort if we can cast the spell at him or one of his other Horcruxes.”

“Why wouldn’t Dumbledore have found that? He found everything else!” said Harry, growing upset. Ginny rubbed his neck and the fires of his lust fought down his anger.

“Harry, as rare as information on Horcruxes is, the counter curse is even more rare. It was developed for the sole purpose of countering the practice, and after the first few wizards died even after creating a Horcrux, the practice faded away and all the information was buried. Egypt happens to have a larger collection of information due to the many still active, ancient curses around the tombs.”

Harry let his head fall back into the chair and closed his eyes. The information that all of this could have been ended ages ago hit him hard, and made him tired.

“Look, it’s not all that late, but it’s late enough. Let me think on this a bit tonight, and you two go... whatever. I don’t want to see you until tomorrow. In the morning, we’ll see what needs to be done, and if all goes well, I’ll still get to go on my honeymoon.”

“Oh no, Bill, I’m so so...”

“Don’t even say it, Harry. With or without your connection to my sister, you’re family, and we always help family. Fleur also holds a soft spot for you and would have my hide if I didn’t do everything I could for you. Don’t worry, we’ll fix this.”

* * *

Back in their room yet again, changing for bed, Harry felt the fatigue settle into him. The wedding had made it a long day, and then his change, then they were running, and a lot of talking, Harry just wanted to sleep. And the knowledge that everyone who had died – his parents, Sirius, Cedric, even Dumbledore – was all because no one knew a spell, and it sapped the rest of his energy from him. He was thankful that Ginny was there for him.

“Harry, can we...?” she let the question hang as he crawled into the bed.

“I’m so tired, Ginny. So tired.”

“Just love me, Harry. Show me you love me. Please. I don’t want you going to sleep with... all this bad stuff being the last thing you’ve thought about. Make love to me and then, I really liked it when you were still in me, sleeping, before.”

Ginny slid into bed with him, pressing her naked body against his. “Please, Harry?”

“Anything for you, Ginny.”

Their lovemaking was slow. Slower than even before. They went for hours with Harry driving Ginny painstakingly slowly from one crest to the next. For a time, he though she might have even experienced one long orgasm that never let go. He lost count of the number of times she cried out before her voice began to weaken. And after her next peak, he finally emptied into her all of the fire that had built and raged through him. They fell asleep in each other’s arms, with him still inside her as he promised.

* * *

He was still inside her the next morning, and, in fact, it seemed as if neither of them had moved during the evening. If he was being honest, sleeping with Ginny had been the most relaxing, restful sleep he had had, ever. He flex his muscles slightly to wake up, pulling Ginny more closely against him as he did so. The feel of her naked body in his arms, her bare skin against his, caused a very expected reaction and he hardened inside of her.

The fire in his blood roared through him with the promise of a brand new day with Ginny, and he couldn’t resist but pushing the rest of the way into her body. Ginny moaned, and without even opening her eyes, said, “Keep going.” Never one to deny his Mate – for he now knew without a doubt that’s what she was to him – he continued his motions from the previous evening.

“No, Harry.” He looked down into her now open, beautiful brown eyes as they slowly shed their signs of sleep. “Last night was for me. I can never thank you enough, but this morning is for you. I don’t want you to worry about me. Please, just do it. Make yourself happy. Let me watch you as I feel it in me.”

Harry tightened his hold on her, and his gaze never left hers as he drove himself in and out of her. It wasn’t the pounding sex from before, but neither was it slow and gentle. Harry used her, used the feel of her, use the fire she lit in blood and the love he felt from her gaze to satisfy himself. He pumped himself into her, reveling in the feelings. He could feel the pressure building, the fire burning, and as her breathing began to increase, he continued to stare into her eyes as he emptied himself into her.

They stayed like that, enjoined, for several minutes, staring into each other. Near the end, Harry broke first and leaned in to kiss her. Morning breath and all, he knew that she was his and he was hers. The eventually broke apart and worked their way out of bed, which was quite difficult as neither of them seemed to want to stop touching. They used some simple cleansing spells on each other and then noticed a pile of clothing by the door.

Harry pulled out an outfit that he clearly recognized as his, while Ginny rummaged through the pile pulling out bits and pieces. Once she stood up, she looked at Harry and answered his unasked question.

“They’re Hermione’s clothes and she’s built a bit differently than I am. These fit the closest, and after a few charms, they should be just fine.”

“I happen to think you are built just fine, anyway, Miss Weasley,” he remarked with a leer at her naked form.

“I’m glad you like it. I happen to like my view just as much,” she said in return.

* * *

Bill greeted them at the kitchen table. There were books spread out all over the table and several more littered around the sofa.

“Been busy, Bill?” asked Harry.

He looked up, appearing refreshed and not at all tired. “Yes, actually, though probably not as much as it looks. Hermione had quite a library stashed away in that bag. But looking through it, and remembering some things that Ron and the twins have said over the years, I have a feeling our job may not be near as difficult as I thought last night.”

“But you said we only needed a spell,” said Ginny.

“No, I said we needed a spell and either a Horcrux or Voldemort.”

“So, what’s changed?” asked Harry.

“Do you trust me, Harry?” inquired the Weasley elder brother.

“Of course. I mean, I don’t know you that well, but Ginny trusts you, and I trust all of you, so yes, I trust you.”

“Good.”

Bill pulled his wand and cast a quick spell whose incantation Harry couldn’t catch, it didn’t even sound like the usual pidgin Latin they used. However, Bill’s eyes lit up when the spell hit him, and Ginny gasped next to him.

“Your scar,” she said, reaching towards it. She hesitated just before she touched it, though.

“It’s safe, Ginny. Nothing like the diary. In that case, the Horcrux interacted with the enchantments placed on the diary. There are no such enchantments on Harry. In fact, I daresay your love for him, and his for you, probably makes you the safest person around to touch it,” said Bill.

Her hand brushed lightly over his scar and the burning that was inevitably caused by her touch raged. But instead of spreading through him as it had been doing, it converged, searing where his scar was such that he could feel its shape inside his head. There was a little bit of pain that underscored the fire and he hissed, causing Ginny to yank her hand away.

“I’m sorry!” she cried out.

“No,” he gasped. “It’s okay. It felt... like it was cleaning me.”

“Excellent!” said Bill, quite loudly. “This could be easier than I thought.”

“What happened?” asked Harry.

“A wizard is not supposed to make that many Horcruxes. They were really only meant to be made once, maybe twice if the first was somehow destroyed. But six times? The soul can’t stand up to that kind of damage. This is not just a magical result, but a physically destructive process. After so many creations, Voldemort’s soul has, and at that time had, become extremely unstable. I don’t know if his plan was to use you, what he deemed to be his greatest enemy, to make another one, but even when he failed to kill you, another part of his soul broke free from it’s unstable base.

“The rest is conjecture, but I’m guessing it followed the path of the Killing Curse and lodged in you, in your scar, Harry. You are a Horcrux.”

“I’m...”

Ginny held onto him tightly.

“His soul is anchored in your scar. We can use it to destroy him once and for all.”

“How?” asked Ginny.

“Well, once again, we’re in luck. Just like murder is the ultimate evil to create a Horcrux, love is the ultimate good to destroy one.”

“Dumbledore said he thought that ‘ _the power he knows not_ ’ was Love, or rather, my capacity to love others.”

“And he wasn’t really wrong. Love, in any form: love of a friend, of family, the love and intimacy of lovers, even the love that precipitates righteous vengeance, can be used to cast the spell. The only requirement is that there is love in which to cast it.”

“So,” summarized Ginny. “You teach us the spell, and...”

“And you express your love however you need to. You can destroy him utterly.”

“Show me,” demanded Harry.

* * *

It seemed to Harry that the past day and a half was spent alternately talking with Bill and then naked in bed with Ginny, not that he was complaining. He now had Ginny, and he knew she would never leave him, not like he had left her which he still cursed himself for.

And now he had the means to destroy Tom Riddle once and for all.

Bill had taught them the spell. He was right, it was incredibly easy. And now he was naked, on his back, with his equally naked Mate straddling him. Fire, as always, raced through him from the places her skin touched his.

“You sure you want to do this, Ginny?” he asked.

“Abso-bloody-lutely,” she responded. “I have my own score to settle with him. And you?”

“I have to do it. For my parents, for Sirius, for all of them, I have to.”

“And?”

“For you, Ginny. I have to do it for you. I can’t let him interfere with my love for you anymore. Not by being in my head; not by existing. I love you, Ginny Weasley, and damned if he gets in the way of that anymore.”

“Show me, Harry. Show me you love me as much as I love you.”

He slid his hands over her skin and up her body, over her arse and her hips, up her waist and sides, until he finally reached his destination: her beautifully perfect breasts. He curved his hands over the lovely mounds, pressing up with his palms and rubbing her stiff points with his thumbs. Ginny hissed and moaned in pleasure.

Reaching down in front of her, Ginny grabbed Harry, who needed no help whatsoever getting ready, and she adjusted him upwards. Lifting herself with her legs, she positioned herself over him and let herself drop, slowly, engulfing him in her heat.

Harry, moaning loudly, allowing himself to get lost in the sensations and his feelings for his Mate, gave her breasts a last squeeze before dropping his hands back to her waist and assisted her in rising and falling.

He didn’t know how long she spent atop him, riding him, and the fire in his body hid the burn in his arms. All he knew was that she had come at least four times and her motions were now slow and erratic. But she had wanted this, wanted to do this for him, and he wanted her to have it. He loved her. He focused on that love and felt the fire in him sing. He wanted Ginny to feel that, to know that beyond anything else, he had accepted her as his Mate.

The fire, whereas before it flowed from their points of contact, now flowed to their points of contact. He felt as if he was pushing the flames from his hands into her torso. As he slid in and out of her, the heat grew, adding to her own. When she smacked against his hips, he could feel the fire shoot up. And Ginny screamed, “Yes!” as she collapsed forward, increasing their contact, allowing more of his love for her, his desire and need of her flow from him.

This is what Gabrielle had tried. But he wouldn’t, couldn’t want this with her. He needed it with Ginny. It could only ever be with Ginny.

“I can feel your love for me,” she moaned into him, kissing his neck, his chest. “I can feel you need me, and I need you Harry. Love me, please.”

“I love you, my Ginny. More than I ever thought possible. I love you, and I need you.”

Harry shoved upwards with his hips and wrapped his arms around her slender form. Ginny gasped into him. Harry pulled back and drove upwards again, willing all his love for her to go with it and she moaned even louder. Over and over he repeated his motion, driving into her with all his strength and all his love, and Ginny’s moaning progressed to growls, and then shouts.

Ginny came, loudly, almost violently atop Harry. And as she did, she reached out and pressed her hand against his infamous scar. Harry could feel her love as a tangible thing, all heat and color and encompassing. His scar once more burned from the inside, a fire bolt in his mind. The cleansing pain drove him on, and he cried out, “Ginny! I’m... I’m...”

“Do it, Harry. Do it now!” she breathed heavily into his ear.

“Ginny!” he shouted, his orgasm washing over him, the fire flowing into her in a large steady force. And as that happened, together, they cried out the ancient Egyptian spell as taught to them by Bill. “ _Isfsty Kaxsf!_ ”

The fire grew to an inferno. His representation of his love for Ginny consumed Harry completely. He could feel the flame burn upwards, including Ginny in their fuel. And it was returned to him, through her, into his scar. His mind could feel the scream of horror, see the fear, hear the fire consume the blackness. It was wet, and hot, and love. It was gone. And then it was nothing.

* * *

Harry awoke, completely unsure as to how long they had been asleep. However, what grabbed his attention, besides the naked beauty sprawled on top of him, were the voices coming from the common area. There were quite a few of them, and they seemed to be laughing joyously, though he couldn’t tell what any of them were saying.

It concerned him that so many other people could apparently find them. He also couldn’t figure out if he should be upset or not that they were having such a good time.

“So, you think we did it?” mumbled Ginny.

“Well, I know we did _it_ ,” he said, snickering faintly. “But if you mean succeeded with the spell, I don’t know.”

“Who’s out there?”

“Dunno, I only just woke.”

“Mmm.”

Ginny slithered up his body and planted a kiss directly on him, one he heartily returned.

“I wish we could stay here, but we should probably see what’s going on,” she said.

“Probably, but I don’t wanna,” complained Harry.

“I will let you do whatever you want to me later, love.”

Harry wrapped Ginny tightly in his arms and kissed her as hard as he could. He kept at it, enjoying the burning sensation throughout his face until he could no longer breath. He released her, and said, “Fine, we’ll go see who it is.”

Panting, Ginny complained, “Not fair.”

* * *

The mated couple cracked the door carefully, just on the off chance that the laughter were Death Eaters having fun. They doubted it greatly as Bill’s spells were extremely good, no one knew where they were, and there would have been a lot of noise earlier that would have woken them if that were the case. But, taking Mad Eye’s favorite advice to heart, they wanted to make sure.

Through the doorway, Harry could see Fleur lounging on the sofa with a laughing Bill, and sitting on the floor in front of them, though he could only see the backs of their heads, were unmistakably Ron and Hermione. All four of them broke out in even more laughter when Fleur glanced over at the door and saw them.

Her action didn’t go unnoticed, and immediately everyone else turned to greet them.

“You’re awake!” screeched Hermione. Hermione usually didn’t screech the obvious like that, but Harry figured the glass of what appeared to be Firewhiskey, explained it. “Come celebrate with us!”

Harry pushed the door open and, hand in hand with Ginny, walked into the room towards their chair.

“Wha... what’s going on?” asked Ginny.

“You did it!” cheered Ron. “Bill is being a spoilsport and won’t tell us what ‘it’ is, but he said ‘it’ worked.”

“It worked?” asked Harry.

“Tom’s dead?” asked Ginny at the same time.

“Eet was superb,” said Fleur. “Minister Thickneese...”

“Who?” interrupted Harry.

“The Death Eaters put a stooge in the Minister’s seat. It was later discovered that, while he had some pureblood sympathies, he was really under the Imperius,” explain Ron.

“Yes. And ‘ee was geeving ‘ees acceptance speech with poorly disguised Death Eaters behind him when, out of nowhere, a cloaked feegure in ze back screeched.”

“It was Voldemort,” continued Ron “He was there to watch as he took official hold of the Ministry when he screeched in pain. We only know what we heard over the Wireless, but he screeched for a good minute with his Death Eaters scrambling around, trying to figure out what was happening, when he ‘exploded in a thousand shards of light,’ they said.”

Harry, and Ginny beside him, stared in amazement at the foursome. Ginny broke the momentary silence by asking, “What happened to the Death Eaters?”

“They were corn... comf... confused!” shouted Hermione.

“Yeah, she doesn’t handle her liquor well,” commented Bill.

“How much has she had?”

“Zat waz ‘er first,” said Fleur, pointing at the mostly empty glass.

“Ooookay,” said Harry, learning something new about one of his his best friends. “So, the Death Eaters?”

“Hermione said it, they were confused. Those Aurors who were against Voldemort but hadn’t been weeded out yet jumped at the situation. They started stunning Death Eaters and the bad Aurors. Some of the Death Eaters began casting curses in response, but, like the wedding, the crowd banded together. It was over in minutes,” Ron explained. “The Wizengamot worked hard all day yesterday to put a basic working government back together. Kingsley is Interim Minister.”

“Yesterday? How long were we asleep?” a shocked Harry asked Bill.

“Pretty much a whole day. I was out for two when I cast that spell.”

“So, it’s done? It’s over?” asked a hopeful Ginny.

“It is,” answered Bill.

“So, you get your honeymoon?” asked Harry.

“Honeymoon!” yelled Hermione, who followed it up with a braying laugh, lay down with her head in Ron’s lap, and promptly went to sleep.

Bill and Fleur looked at each other, and at Fleur’s nod, Bill answered, “Kind of. There’s been a slight change in plans.”

“Is something wrong?” asked Harry.

“Not really. I guess we haven’t really had time for you to wonder where we are.”

Both Harry and Ginny shook their heads in the negative.

“What I grabbed was one of our getaway Portkeys. Fleur and I both like traveling, and every once in a while, we like to just... get away. Working for Gringotts gives us the right to keep some international Portkeys, it’s part of their treaty with I.C.W. The one I took was for Greece.”

“We’re in... Greece?” asked Ginny.

Bill and Fleur both nodded.

“So, what plans changed?”

“Beel and I are taking our ‘oneymoon ‘ere.”

“So... you want to keep the tent?”

“ _We_ want to keep the tent,” corrected Bill.

“Um, Bill? That’s what she said,” said Harry.

“No, she said ‘you,’ meaning Fleur and I. I said ‘we,’ meaning the four of us.”

“Four?” asked Harry. This whole conversation was tiring.

“Eeet’s a good thing your friend ‘as passed out, ‘Arry. She would be crawling over you now.”

Harry turned to look at Ginny who was smiling at him, her eyes clearly wanting him. He leaned in to kiss her and she moaned as their lips touched.

“Eeep! Ginny! I don’t need to see that,” complained Ron.

“How about you take Hermione, go back and tell Mum we’re all okay. We’ll be back in due time.”

“Sure,” said Ron. “Make me deal with her.”

Bill laughed and handed his brother a familiar canopic jar. Ron touched the jar to Hermione’s arm, and the pair disappeared. Harry reluctantly pulled his lips from Ginny and looked at the remaining couple, now wanting nothing more than to crawl back into bed and sleep.

“Do not worry, ‘Arry. Eet will pass eventually.”

“Bill said a week to a month.”

“Oui, zat iz right. Enjoy eet while you can.”

“Will, uh, what we have go away?”

“Non. You are Mated, ‘Arry. Zat will not change.”

“Will the,” he gave a glance to both Ginny and Bill. “Fire still be there?

Fleur’s face lit up and a huge smile appeared. “Do you want eet to go away?”

Shyly, he answered, “No. I like it. It’s something that only happens with us.”

“Oui. Only the two of you. She eez truly your Mate, ‘Arry.”

“I think Harry is about to pass out standing there, and Ginny is going to rip off his shirt if they don’t get some alone time. Enjoy our honeymoon, both of you. We have however much time you need, Harry. Hermione brought food if you get hungry. And if, somehow, we’re all out and about at the same time, maybe we’ll find something else to do.” Bill said all this with a smile. He helped Fleur up from the sofa and the couple disappeared into the other room.

“I’m really tired,” Harry said to Ginny.

Pulling Harry towards their room, Ginny said, “Let’s go fix that, Mate.”


End file.
